BERLIN (AP) — Chemical and oil company BASF SE says it is selling its textile chemicals business to Swiss-based Archroma for an undisclosed amount.

BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, said Thursday that the deal requires antitrust approval and is expected to close in next year’s first quarter. The business is based in Singapore and the transaction involves some 290 employees, 230 of them in Asia.

Archroma supplies specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries and has about 3,000 employees.

The president of BASF’s performance chemicals division, Hans W. Reiners, said in a statement that “a critical mass is necessary to grow the business successfully” as the industry consolidates and BASF sees good growth prospects for the unit with Archroma.

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